afroakuma's Planar And Other Oddities Questions Thread VIII

[afroakuma]

I think in the past you've said that in your played version of the Forgotten Realms setting, the Chosen are depowered; can you elaborate on that a bit, or point me to a place where you've done so before?

I'm not entirely sure I have ever elaborated on it, come to think of it...

The fundamental idea is that the Realms come under threat due to the machinations of Karsus, the extremely-temporary deity of magic, more recently a vestige. A veeeery long-term plan to pull himself back into reality through the Weave is reliant on there being a high concentration of Mystra's power to jack into, which would be Elminster. If he were to do so, Karsus's residual backdoor into the godhead of Mystryl would result in absolute catastrophe for a second time. Of course, Mystra, as a greater goddess, can sense the threat to her power several weeks out, and starts laying plans.

Ultimately, Elminster chooses to pass of old age, relinquishing his Chosen immortality, and goes peacefully in his sleep after a pleasant meal with his assistant. When the threat doesn't clear, Mystra recalls her power from the other Chosen, and other gods are swift to follow suit, fearful that the willing withdrawal of the goddess of magic must be an indicator of grave danger to their own power (which hey, they are not wrong, there is a chance that any concentration of divine power that large could serve as Karsus's host). With so many individual casters reduced in power, and many of the greater evils (liches, etc.) choosing to flee the sphere entirely and set up shop elsewhere, uncertainty reigns as the greatest arcane powers are concentrated in artifacts and relics of past ages, many of which are in the trapped but now vacant domains of said greater evils.

The Red Wizards fall back into their towers and fortresses, weakening the magocratic foundations of Thay, as they jockey for scraps of power in the new diminished regime, fearful of a plot by the absent Szass Tam. Bane's forces in the north strike an uneasy peace with the Dalelands with neither side trusting the other. Shar is too cautious to believe Mystra has left a true power vacuum, but in an era of fear and loss, she's already making out like a bandit, so she doesn't care. In the far south, Zakhara's sha'irs quest to other lands to explore the weakening of magic.

Meanwhile, Talos has discovered that in a time when Shar and her Shadow Weave have backed off, and Bane is down a number of powerful wizards and uberclerics, destruction has a pretty good day. First among the greater powers to be willing to risk committing his own might onto the world once more, he has come with a plan - a plan taking place in a corner of the world so pivotal, yet so obscure, that nobody really saw it coming. In the so-called Utter East, beyond Durpar and the Golden Water, beyond even Ulgarth, the Five Kingdoms are the site of ancient fonts of primal magic, channeled by powerful artifacts known as "bloodforges" that were used in ages past to create living armies of pure magic to wage war on one another. Talos plans to seize the bloodforges and use the most ancient magics of the world to sow destruction and chaos, becoming the preeminent deity of darkness.

Lastly, a group of terrifying riders cloaked in black, redolent with the stench of the grave, have appeared across the Realms, all of them conducting unusual errands as they gradually converge on the Five Kingdoms, each bearing the symbol of a long-gone Lord of the Dead. The church of Kelemvor investigates these sightings with growing alarm, worried about the possibility that in this age of shadow, Myrkul may yet return.

So, randomly came upon the name Epona looking at monsters in the Planar Handbook.

Does this goddess (?) get a write-up or mentioned elsewhere?

Only one mention outside of the monster references that I've seen; it's noted that she's a lesser power or demipower of the Celtic pantheon, and resides in Tir na nOg with them.

Does she have any kind of relationship with Equinals, or with Vhara?

Doubtful.

Or even the Equiceph race?

Hard no.